Superimposable bed.



J. SILVESTER.

SUPERIMPOSABLE BE D. APPLICATION FILED MAY 8' 191a.

Patented Aug. 13, 1918.

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I. SILVESTER.

SUPERlMPOSABLE BED. I APPLICATION FILED MAY BI 191'8.

LQWJM. Patented Aug. 13, 1918'.

V Lg I (9' 2 S E TSSHEET 2.

r TED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOSEPH SILVESTER, 0F PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR T0 FORT PITTBEDDING COMPANY, OF PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA; A CORPOR TION OFrnnnsvtvama.

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SUPERIMPOSAIBLE BED. v

Patented Aug. 13. 1918.

Application filed May s, 1918. Serial No. 233,239.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOSEPH SILvEsTER, a citizen of the United States,residing at Pittsburgh, in the county of Allegheny and State ofPennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inSuperimposable Beds, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to superimposable beds the legs of which areprovided at either end with an opposite part of complementary lockingmeans or the legs of which are provided at their lower ends with onecomplementary part of locking means and at their upper ends with theother complementary part of locking-means, whereby one bed may bepositioned over the other through registration of the complementaryparts of the locking means; and it comprises certain improvements ininterlocking joints for superimposed structures wherein bars or posts,advantageously of angle-iron construction are arranged to be securelylocked together through the provision of locking means on onecomplementary part and lockengaging means on the other complementarypart, the locking means and lock-engaging means advantageouslycomprising, when the posts are of angle-iron construction, a slot in oneface or side of one angleiron and a projecting lug on one face ofanother angle-iron, the lug being adapted to register with the slot andthe sides or faces of the angle-irons being arranged to fit flushagainst each other, certain detail rests or supports being provided onthe interior faces of the angle-irons to assist in alining the parts andrigidly holding them in alined position; all as more fully hereinafterset forth and as claimed.

The provision of means for rigidly securing superimposed structurestogether has long been a desideratum in the art to which this inventionrelates. It has been proposed to'bolt sectional posts together and ithas been proposed to pivot two or more posts together with a view towardproviding a foldable or knock down structure. It has also ben proposedto provide foldable cots or the like with two pivoted sections arrangedin relation to one or another in such a manner that when opened one cotwill be superimposed with respect to-the other,

but these structures do not have the requisite strength or rigidstructure to prevent movement while in use with the result that they arepractically useless for their purposes.

In the present invention I have provided a plurality of posts which mayserve as the legs and uprights of bedsteads or other superimposablestructure. .When applied to a bed the posts are provided with the usualside, head and foot rails suitably braced withrespect to these posts orlegs. Two or more of these posts may be used, but I shall describe myinvention as applicable to four legged or four-post beds. At the ends orthe head and foot of the bed, the posts are advantageously oflL-angle-iron construction, with locking means attached thereto. Thelocking means may comprise a lateral projection, such as a lug rigidlysecured near the top of the side of the angle-iron which is-parallel tothe side rail of the bed and a recess or slot on the lower end, the lugof the upper end being adapted to ride in the slot of the lower end ofthe post of another section. Advantageously I provide a cross rod whichmaybe of angle-iron construction connecting two opposite posts of thehead or foot of the bed and near the bottom of each head post, andinside the angle-iron, I provide a knee piece, brace or rest adapted toembrace the cross rod of the lower head posts and positioned withrespect to the slot in such a manner that when the lug of the lower orother post engages the top of the slot the brace or knee piece willengage or embrace the cross rod; and the knee piece is advantageously ofsuch dimension that its downwardly projecting face will also engage theouter edge of the inner face of the angle-iron of the lower post. Wherefour posts are used, I may dispense with the slot and lug connection ateither the head or foot, relying upon the cross rod of the lower postsand the knee post or brace of the upper post for securing thesuperimposed or complementary posts of the sections together. When theslot and lug are used on all four posts it is necessary to spring theposts slightly to connect them; when used only on the head or only onthe foot posts the beds may be assembled by tilting at one end to causethe slots to ride over the lugs.

In the accompanying drawings I have of my invention.

shown one form of a specific embodiment In this showing Figure 1 is aperspective view showing three sections of my superimposed bed or bunksecured together;

Fig. 2 is a detail perspective on an enlarged scale showing the twocomplementary posts or legs;

Fig. 3 is a segmental detail perspective of one of the jointsillustrating the manner in which the knee brace carried by oneangle-iron overlaps and, engages the cross rod carried by the otherangle-iron; and

Fig. 4 is a front view, knee brace being in section, of one of thejoints or compound legs of the head of the bed.

In the drawings the head posts are indicated by the reference numerals 1and 2, while the foot posts are indicated by reference numerals 3 and 4.The legs are braced by the side angle-iron rails 5 and 6 which areriveted at- 7 and 8, and by lower foot andhead braces 9 and 10. Struts11 from the foot and head posts to the side rails and struts 12 from thefoot and head posts to the foot and head cross rails may be provided'foradding rigidity to the structure. The cross rail at the foot isadvantageously an angle-iron 13 riveted to opposite foot pieces or posts3 and 4 and having horizontal faces 14 and vertical faces 15. These maybe provided at the head and 001. of the bed but are shown only at theoot.

The opposite foot posts 3 and 4 carry at their top angle-irons 16 withhorizontal faces 17 and vertical faces 18, while at their lower endsthey carry knee pieces or braces 19 advantageously made of two pieces ofL-angle-iron riveted together at 20. When one section of the bed or bunkis superimposed upon another, these knee pieces or braces 19 rest uponand embrace the cross rods or rests 16 of the lower section and theseknee pieces 19 are advantageously of such a width as toalso embrace theedges of the angle-irons of the legs of the lower sections, as is shownat 21 '(Figs. 1 and 2). One angle-iron of the upper section fits aroundthe angle-iron of the lower section and thus in effect when the beds aresuperimposed comprise one continuous post.

Each sectional post or complementary part of each leg (when the legs inassembled position are considered as a whole) is provided at the bottomwith a curved slot 22 extending from the outer edge of the face of theangle-iron which is parallel with the side rail and upwardly a shortdistance; while at the top it is provided with a lug 23 having anenlarged head or end 24:. The shank portion of the lug rides in the slotat the bottom portion of the leg which is to be attached and rests atthe top portion of the slot, the head preventing sidewise or lateralmotion. The knee piece 19 carried by each angle-iron leg at the lowerend embraces the cross rod 16 at each end of the bed and serves as astop to limit the downward movement of the upper section when it isplaced in position on the lower section, the knee piece being positionedwith respect to the slot in such a manner than when the shank of the lugof the other complementary section engages the metal at the end of theslot, the knee piece or brace will engage or rest upon the cross rod 16.This makes a secure joint.

When. a four-post or four-legged bed is to be assembled, it is onlynecessary to position the lower section and then aline the upper sectionin position by permitting the slots to ride over the shanks of the lugsand lower the other end or foot of the bed so that the angle-irons ofthe upper section embrace the angle-irons of the lower section.Ordinarily the posts should be sprung apart slightly to connect theparts, except when the lug and slot connections are used at one end ofthe bed only. It is best to slant the legs of each section so that theyconverge at the top to a slight extent to allow for the thickness of theangle-iron of the next section to be positioned. The posts are providedwith what may be termed complementary locking means, one part beingcarried by the posts at their lower ends. Any section can thus besuperimposed on any other section, and the whole comprises a simpleknock-down bed.

What I claim is 1. In a knock-down bed a plurality of sets of posts,each post provided with a flat face and the posts of one set each havingformed therein a slot extended from one side of said face upwardly in acurved direction for a short distance, and each flat face of the otherset of posts being provided with a laterally projecting lug adapted toregister with said curved slot, and additional means connected to theflat faces of the posts to prevent direct vertical or direct lateraldisplacement of the posts while the slot and lug are in registration.

2. In superimposable structures, a plurality of angle-iron supports, oneside of the angle-iron of one support having a slot formed therein nearone end and one side of the angle-iron of the other support being emmaone support may be positioned in substantial vertical alinement withrespect to the other support.

l. Superimposable structures comprising a plurality of posts or supportseach having faces at an angle to each other, one of said supportsprovided near one end with an extension serving as a stop and the otherof said supports provided near one end with an extension serving as arestor brace and means for assembling the two supports in verticalsubstantial alinernent with the rest or braceof the one support engagingthe stop of the other support.

Superiinposable structures comprising a pair of angle-irons, one face ctone angleiron support having a slot formed therein and one face of theother angle-iron support provided with a lug adapted to register withsaid slot, a rest or brace secured inside the angle of one support and astop secured inside the angle of the other support, the brace or restand the stop being positioned on their respective supports with respectto the lug and the slot so as to be in engagement when the lug registersin the slot and to as sist in holding the parts in alined position whenassembled,

6. ln joints for superimposable structures comprising two sections to beassembled, a slot formed in one section and a lug carried by the other,a brace carried by one section in proximity to the slot and a rest orsupport carried by the other section in proximity to the lug, whereby,when the lug registers with the slot, the brace and rest will engageeach other to assist in alining the sections.

7. ln joints for superiinposable structures comprising two sections tobe assembled, a slot formed in one section and a lug carried by theother, a brace carried by one section in proximity to the slot and arest or support carried by the other section in proximity to the lug,said brace being provided with a downwardly projecting portion adaptedto engage the outer end oi said rest or support, whereby, when the lug,reg- 1 isters with'the slot, the brace and rest will engage each otherto assist in alining the sections.

lln testimony whereof, ll afi ix my signature hereto.

, JObEPH SlLVESTElEt. Witnesses H. E. WOLF, WM. G. linen.

